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Description

The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) mission aims to characterize ecosystem structure and dynamics to enable radically improved quantification and understanding of the Earth’s carbon cycle and biodiversity. The GEDI instrument produces high resolution laser ranging observations of the 3-dimensional structure of the Earth. GEDI is attached to the International Space Station (ISS) and collects data globally between 51.6° N and 51.6° S latitudes at the highest resolution and densest sampling of any light detection and ranging (lidar) instrument in orbit to date. Each GEDI Version 2 granule encompasses one-fourth of an ISS orbit and includes georeferenced metadata to allow for spatial querying and subsetting.

The GEDI instrument was removed from the ISS and placed into storage on March 17, 2023. No data were acquired during the hibernation period from March 17, 2023, to April 24, 2024. GEDI has since been reinstalled on the ISS and resumed operations as of April 26, 2024.

The GEDI Level 1B Geolocated Waveforms product (GEDI01_B) provides geolocated corrected and smoothed waveforms, geolocation parameters, and geophysical corrections for each laser shot for all eight GEDI beams. GEDI01_B data are created by geolocating the GEDI01_A raw waveform data. The GEDI01_B product is provided in HDF5 format and has a spatial resolution (average footprint) of 25 meters.

The GEDI01_B data product contains 85 layers for each of the eight beams including the geolocated corrected and smoothed waveform datasets and parameters and the accompanying ancillary, geolocation, and geophysical correction. Additional information can be found in the GEDI L1B Product Data Dictionary.

Known Issues

  • Data acquisition gaps: GEDI data acquisitions were suspended on December 19, 2019 (2019 Day 353) and resumed on January 8, 2020 (2020 Day 8).
  • Incorrect Reference Ground Track (RGT) number in the filename for select GEDI files: GEDI Science Data Products for six orbits on August 7, 2020, and November 12, 2021, had the incorrect RGT number in the filename. There is no impact to the science data, but users should reference this document for the correct RGT numbers.
  • Known Issues: Section 8 of the User Guide provides additional information on known issues.

Improvements/Changes from Previous Versions

  • Metadata has been updated to include spatial coordinates.
  • Granule size has been reduced from one full ISS orbit (~7.99 GB) to four segments per orbit (~2.00 GB).
  • Filename has been updated to include segment number and version number.
  • Improved geolocation for an orbital segment.
  • Added elevation from the SRTM digital elevation model for comparison.
  • Modified the method to predict an optimum algorithm setting group per laser shot.
  • Added additional land cover datasets related to phenology, urban infrastructure, and water persistence.
  • Added selected_mode_flag dataset to root beam group using selected algorithm.
  • Removed shots when the laser is not firing.
  • Modified file name to include segment number and dataset version.

Version Description

Version 2

Product Summary

Platforms
ISS
Instruments
GEDI
Spatial Extent
N: 54 S: -54 E: 180 W: -180
Spatial Resolution
25 Meters x 25 Meters
Geographic Region
GLOBAL LAND
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2019-04-04 to 2023-03-16
2024-04-26 to Present
Temporal Resolution
Varies
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC)
Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA (NASA/GSFC/GEDI)
Concept ID
C2142749196-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Processing Level
1B
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Topography,
Canopy Characteristics,
Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM),
Lidar,
LIDAR WAVEFORM

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

Dubayah, R., Luthcke, S., Blair, J., Hofton, M., Armston, J., & Tang, H. (2021). GEDI L1B Geolocated Waveform Data Global Footprint Level V002 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/GEDI/GEDI01_B.002 Date Accessed: 2025-11-01

File Naming Convention

GEDI01_B_2024333234311_O33780_03_T10654_02_006_02_V002.h5 

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (GEDI01_B), followed by the Julian Date and Time of Acquisition designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2024333234311), the Orbit Number starting with the letter O (O33780), the Sub-Orbit Granule Number (03), Track Number (T10654), the Positioning and Pointing Determination System type where 00 is predict, 01 rapid, 02 and higher is final (02), the Product Generation Executables Version (006), the Granule Production Version (02), the Version Number (V002), and the Data Format (h5).

Documents

Variables

Variables are a set of physical properties whose values determine the characteristics or behavior of something. For example, temperature and pressure are variables of the atmosphere. Parameters and variables can be used interchangeably. Variable level attributes provide individual information for each variable.

The Name in this table is the variable name. Fill value indicates missing or undefined data points in a variable. Valid range is the range of values the variable can store. Scale factor is used to increase or decrease the size of an object and can be used to correct for distortion. For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
/BEAM0000/all_samples_sum Sum of all values within the 10 km range window. counts from the ADC (Analog-to-Digital Converter) uint32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/ancillary/master_time_epoch Number of GPS seconds between the GPS epoch (1980-01-06T00:00:00Z) and the GEDI epoch (2018-01-01T00:00:00Z). Add this value to delta_time parameters to compute full GPS seconds (relative to the GPS epoch) for each data point. seconds float64 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/ancillary/mean_samples Averaging window (shots) for non-repeated odd-even measurements from housekeeping. shots int64 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/ancillary/smoothing_width The 1-sigma width (nsec) of the gaussian kernel used to smooth the corrected waveform. sample intervals (~1 ns) float64 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/beam Beam number (0-11). counter uint16 N/A N/A to 11 N/A
/BEAM0000/channel Channel number (0-7). counter uint8 N/A N/A to 7 N/A
/BEAM0000/delta_time Transmit time of the shot, measured in seconds from the master_time_epoch. By adding the offset contained within /BEAMXXXX/ancillary/master_time_epoch to delta_time, the time in GPS seconds relative to the GPS epoch can be computed. Equivalent to /BEAMXXXX/master_int+/BEAMXXXX/master_frac. seconds since 2018-01-01 float64 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/altitude_instrument Height of the instrument diffractive optical element (DOE) above the WGS84 ellipsoid. meters float64 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/altitude_instrument_error Error on altitude_instrument. meters float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/bounce_time_offset_bin0 The difference between the transmit time and the time at the start of the RX window seconds float64 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/bounce_time_offset_bin0_error Error on bounce_time_offset_bin0. seconds float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/bounce_time_offset_lastbin The difference between the transmit time and the time at the end of the RX window seconds float64 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/bounce_time_offset_lastbin_error Error on bounce_time_offset_lastbin. seconds float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/degrade Non-zero values indicate the shot occured during a degraded period. A non-zero tens digit indicates degraded attitude, a non-zero ones digit indicates a degraded trajectory. 3X=ADF CHU solution unavailable (ST-2); 4X=Platform attitude; 5X=Poor solution (filter covariance large); 6X=Data outage (platform attitude gap also); 7X=ST 1+2 unavailable (similar boresight FOV); 8X=ST 1+2+3 unavailable; 9X=ST 1+2+3 and ISS unavailable; X1=Maneuver; X2=GPS data gap; X3=ST blinding; X4=Other; X5=GPS receiver clock drift; X6=X5+X1; X7=X5+X2; X8=X5+X3; X9=X5+X4. flag int8 N/A N/A to 99 N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/delta_time Transmit time of the shot, measured in seconds from the master_time_epoch. By adding the offset contained within /BEAMXXXX/ancillary/master_time_epoch to delta_time, the time in GPS seconds relative to the GPS epoch can be computed. Equivalent to /BEAMXXXX/master_int+/BEAMXXXX/master_frac. seconds since 2018-01-01 float64 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/digital_elevation_model Digital elevation model height above the WGS84 ellipsoid. Interpolated at latitude_bin0 and longitude_bin0 from the TandemX 90m product. meters float32 -999999 -999999 to 10038 N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/digital_elevation_model_srtm Digital elevation model height above the WGS84 ellipsoid. Evaluated at rx_sample_count-selection_stretcher_y from the SRTM 30m product. meters float32 -999999 -999999 to 10038 N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/elevation_bin0 Height of the start of the RX window, relative to the WGS-84 ellipsoid. Includes corrections due to the range bias, atmospheric path delay, solid Earth tides, ocean loading, ocean pole tide, and solid Earth pole tide. meters float64 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/elevation_bin0_error Error on elevation_bin0. meters float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/elevation_lastbin Height of the end of the RX window, relative to the WGS-84 ellipsoid. Includes corrections due to the range bias, atmospheric path delay, solid Earth tides, ocean loading, ocean pole tide, and solid Earth pole tide. meters float64 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/elevation_lastbin_error Error on elevation_lastbin. meters float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/latitude_bin0 Latitude of the start of the RX window. degrees float64 N/A N/A to 90 N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/latitude_bin0_error Error on latitude_bin0. degrees float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/latitude_instrument Latitude of the instrument diffractive optical element (DOE) at laser transmit time. degrees float64 N/A N/A to 90 N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/latitude_instrument_error Error on latitude_instrument. degrees float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/latitude_lastbin Latitude of the end of the RX window. degrees float64 N/A N/A to 90 N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/latitude_lastbin_error Error on latitude_lastbin. degrees float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/local_beam_azimuth Azimuth of the unit pointing vector for the laser in the local ENU frame. The angle is measured from North and positive towards East. radians float32 N/A N/A to 180 N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/local_beam_azimuth_error Error on local_beam_azimuth. radians float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/local_beam_elevation Elevation of the unit pointing vector for the laser in the local ENU frame. The angle is measured from East-North plane and positive towards Up. radians float32 N/A N/A to 1.5707963705063 N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/local_beam_elevation_error Error on local_beam_elevation. radians float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/longitude_bin0 Longitude of the start of the RX window. degrees float64 N/A N/A to 180 N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/longitude_bin0_error Error on longitude_bin0. degrees float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/longitude_instrument Longitude of the instrument diffractive optical element (DOE) at laser transmit time. degrees float64 N/A N/A to 180 N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/longitude_instrument_error Error on longitude_instrument. degrees float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/longitude_lastbin Longitude of the end of the RX window. degrees float64 N/A N/A to 180 N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/longitude_lastbin_error Error on longitude_lastbin. degrees float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/mean_sea_surface Mean sea surface height above the WGS84 ellipsoid, includes the geoid. Interpolated at latitude_bin0 and longitude_bin0 from DTU15. meters float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/neutat_delay_derivative_bin0 Change in neutral atmospheric delay per height change for the start of the RX window. meters/meter float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/neutat_delay_derivative_lastbin Change in neutral atmospheric delay per height change for the end of the RX window. meters/meter float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/neutat_delay_total_bin0 Total neutral atmosphere delay correction (wet+dry) from the TX pulse to the start of the RX window (computed according to ICESat-2 ATL03A ATDB). This value is subtracted from the range during geolocation. meters float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/neutat_delay_total_lastbin Total neutral atmosphere delay correction (wet+dry) from the TX pulse to the end of the RX window (computed according to ICESat-2 ATL03A ATDB). This value is subtracted from the range during geolocation. meters float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/range_bias_correction The range bias applied to the range measurement. This value is subtracted from the range to get the corrected range. meters float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/shot_number Unique shot ID. counter uint64 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/solar_azimuth The azimuth of the sun position vector from the laser bounce point position in the local ENU frame. The angle is measured from North and is positive towards East. degrees float32 N/A N/A to 180 N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/solar_elevation The elevation of the sun position vector from the laser bounce point position in the local ENU frame. The angle is measured from the East-North plane and is positive Up. degrees float32 N/A N/A to 90 N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/surface_type Flags describing which surface types this interval is associated with. 0=not type, 1=is type. Order of array is land, ocean, sea ice, land ice, inland water. boolean int8 N/A N/A to 1 N/A
/BEAM0000/geophys_corr/delta_time Transmit time of the shot, measured in seconds from the master_time_epoch. By adding the offset contained within /BEAMXXXX/ancillary/master_time_epoch to delta_time, the time in GPS seconds relative to the GPS epoch can be computed. Equivalent to /BEAMXXXX/master_int+/BEAMXXXX/master_frac. seconds since 2018-01-01 float64 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geophys_corr/dynamic_atmosphere_correction Dynamic Atmospheric Correction (DAC) includes inverted barometer (IB) effect. meters float32 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geophys_corr/geoid Geoid height above WGS-84 reference ellipsoid (range -107 to 86m). Not applied on the product. meters float32 N/A N/A N/A
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